Idris Elba smashes a speed record unbeaten for 88 years

Pendine Sands is a beach on the south coast of Wales with an area of 11 kilometres of mud and water. Its length, and the fact that it becomes an improvised racetrack when the tide is low, make it ideal for chasing a vehicle’s maximum speed. This is what Sir Malcolm Campbell envisioned on 25 September 1924, when he took on the sand of the beach and set the first speed record on it: 235.22 km/h.

Over the following three years, John Godfrey Parry-Thomas and Campbell waged a fierce battle of attempts to set the speed record on the sand of Pendine Sands, exceeding 240 km/h on every occasion that produced a new record. Finally, with 280.38 km/h set by Campbell, it was Parry-Thomas’s turn. His attempt came on 3 March 1927, but a terrible accident at 270 km/h cost him his life on the very ground he hoped to conquer, making him the first person in history to die attempting to break a speed record.

88 years later, actor and motoring enthusiast Idris Elba has set a new record at Pendine Sands at the wheel of his Bentley Continental GT Speed. At 290.26 km/h, Elba becomes the fastest driver ever to have run on the sand of this Welsh beach, declaring: “I’m absolutely delighted to have broken the record at Pendine Sands. It’s an honour to have taken on the challenge and to follow in the footsteps of the illustrious Sir Malcolm Campbell”.

What prompted Idris Elba to take on the challenge and claim the new record was the filming of his new documentary for Discovery Channel: ‘Idris Elba: No Limits’. The actor chose the powerful GT Speed, equipped with a 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 engine producing 635 CV and 820 Nm of torque. The sports car Bentley goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 331 km/h. In addition, the Speed version features an upgraded chassis, new suspension with anti-roll bars, and a ride height 10 mm lower than the standard variant.

Source: CarScoops